Deceit
by fiftyshadesofanimetrash
Summary: After a night that went horribly wrong, a young Noctis learns the hard truth about being royalty: you get used. Includes Ignis and Gladio acting like distressed parents for their little sleepy prince.


_Ding, ding, dinggggg!_

With just a bell, the school day began in a matter of minutes. Kids shuffling into class, young Noctis was among the first in the room. He sat in the back, fiddling with his pencil and staring down at his notebook. Of course, there were always some girls like Iris and others that would bother him, but once he was in class that usually wasn't the case. He tried his best to get to the classroom first to one, avoid that, but also, well...Ignis was quite keen on getting Noctis to school early. Always.

 _So tired..._

It was _Monday_ , and like the start of every week, tiring at best. Noctis was always tired, but waking up at 6 AM was not his forte.

Noctis pursed his lips a little, feeling eyes on him. He looked up, seeing a blonde boy look away right when he did. Weird.

It wasn't like he never wanted to talk to the kid named Prompto, but it just seemed to him all the time that _Prompto_ didn't. Seeing him look away right when Noct did, Noctis looked down again. He made a huff.

So much for making friends. He wasn't too desperate for them either, but he always wanted maybe just one friend that liked him for him. No strings attached to the kingdom, no ulterior motive synced to the invisible crown on his head. Gladio and Ignis were good to have, but they were paid to protect him. Heck, they weren't even his age! A few years older...

Doodling on his notebook one last time, Noctis put his head down and awaited for the teacher to begin the lecture.

It was only 7:30 in the morning, and he just _wanted_ to go _home_.

Nothing would come out of this day. It was all so boring.

That was when a finger poked his shoulder.

"Here."

He looked up, and an envelope was shown to his face. It was from the kid who sat right in front of him. He held it in his scrawny porcelain fingers, eyeing it with a look of zero interest. However, his mind pondered on it, intrigued.

"Oh," little Noctis looked up from the white envelope. "...okay." He was confused: what could be in this little slip of paper?

The lecture began. A pout escaped the boy's lips.

He would find out later.

...

Once the boy got home from school later that day, his heart pounded with excitement. What could it be? Was he invited to something for once, was what he wondered.

Noctis ran into the entrance of his home, the kingdom, with excitement. He had his backpack half off by the time he reached the narrow halls, leaving Ignis to park the car without company. Once in the living space of the corridor, Noctis slammed his backpack down on the comfortable sofa and began quickly rummaging through the papers, and piles, and stacks of work and folders. They went scavenged across the couch, the boy's shoes thrown off in the middle of the floor. His eyes lit up when he took in the beautiful sight.

The envelope.

It was not bent and crumpled like the other stacks of papers; Noctis treated the envelope with more care than he did with his school supplies.

"Well, you're excited."

Oh. That was right.

His bodyguard.

Gladiolus Amicita was standing right at the entrance of the living space, making sure no strangers would enter. He also waited for the prince to get home, for he was the most important person he was given the job to protect.

And, might he add, it wasn't the worst job in the world anymore. Noctis was a boy that meant well; Gladio learned after these months himself involving a certain situation with his little sister, Iris. They also had training to do in a little while: today he would attempt to teach the kid about warping. Too much for a 12 year old?

Gladio liked to keep things challenging.

Since Gladio was no clean freak himself, he left Noctis to his own devices with his shoes spread out on the floor and his papers making the couch almost unable to see. "-Y'know, if Iggy walked in right now, he'd be pissed."

"This is important, Gladio." Noctis mumbled, reading the text as his eyes lit up more at the contents.

"Heh, _sure_." -Important was a funny word to come out of such a lazy boy's mouth.

 **You're invited...**

 **to the birthday party of Agreas!**

 **When: Tomorrow, 6:30-9:00**

 **Where: The Quintin Residence , 15 Blacksmith Boulevard**

 **Dinner will be served. We will have fun!**

You could tell the mother of the preteen wrote all of the cards out. Nevertheless, Noctis couldn't contain his excitement. A little smile grazed his small lips.

"I was invited to a party." The way he said it, his words leaked with confidence.

"By _who_? I didn't know you spoke to nobody, Noct."

"Hey!" Young Noctis pouted. "-It was...by a guy that sits in front of me."

"I'm gonna' go."

"Hm," Gladio walked over, sitting next to the child, whom was much smaller than him despite him only being a couple years older. He pushed the papers and backpack out of the way to plop down. He took the card and quickly scanned it. "you sure this'll slide with the king, _your Highness_?"

"You mean Iggy?"

Gladio chuckled at the response. He was right; Ignis was the one that _drove_ Noctis everywhere. Though, the one person who had to confirm if Ignis could? It would _still_ be Regis. "Nice try, kid. 'Still gotta ask King Regis."

Noctis looked down. "But, he probably won't be around to ask." Noctis tried not to be too bitter about his dad not having much time to pay attention to him; he understood why and he knew Regis tried his best. Though, he couldn't help but feel sadness stricken him if he thought too deeply about it. He shook his head a little, eyes shutting for a moment as he tried to quit thinking about the negative.

Gladio watched sadness wash over the boy once he realized the dim chance of going to this proclaimed party, since it was so soon. Noctis had never been invited to anything before besides royal banquets. Gladio was a little concerned himself about the prince going; for one, Noctis was a prince, so going out for things like this at night was already a little dangerous. Then, other petty things he knew he should not think about but did for Noct's own happiness.

He was just worried.

Despite this, he took the letter from Noctis' small hands, proceeding to give the small boy a fist bump like he always did, neat hair all ruffled along with it. "Alright, I'll do you a solid and get this to your dad before tomorrow , that good, Noct?"

Noctis flushed a little at the fist bump, the sadness quickly disappearing. For that, Gladio was happy. "Mm."

"Ya' happy now?" Gladio messed up Noctis' hair a little more as he asked.

"Gladio...!" Noctis tried to pat his hair down so it wasn't so spiky now from the ruffling. "...thanks," he mumbled, towards the letter receiving opportunity.

"Just sit tight," Gladio said, as he put the letter in his pocket and got up. It seemed he was already planning to go, like, as soon as possible. "I'll head down now: just don't go off and do something stupid while I'm gone, alright? Then, they'll have my head for leaving you," Gladio grabbed his things while at the door. "you're not alone, anyways. 'Got nothing to worry about." There were always maids around the palace.

The door instantaneously shut once Noctis could hear Gladio's things being picked up and put together, and when he heard the footsteps become less and less audible. Noctis did as told.

He just hoped his dad would say yes.

...

Gladio had managed to pull the king out of the meeting when his son was bought up. If only Noctis could see this, he thought. He stopped the whole meeting once he knew his son needed something.

Maybe Noct couldn't see it sometimes, but Regis really did care. Annoyed council members left the meeting hall and waited outside for the meeting to resume; Regis gave the room to just him and Gladiolus.

Regis was just beginning to look a little more aged. He could walk still, that was for sure, but gray only just began to seep a little into his dark hair. His face was always pale, but his blue eyes seemed to be drained of a little color. He still looked alive and healthy, but there were a few notable changes to his complexion.

"A _party_?" Regis leaned forward in interest with serious eyes. He held his hands together as he sat comfortably in a large cushioned seat.

Gladio sat across from him, a little fidgety since he was facing he king alone but reminded himself why he was here. He took the letter out and slid it across the large table to the King himself. "Yea- _Yes_ , your Majesty." Gladio's informal personality was barely shown in the presence of supreme royalty, though slipping a bit for a moment he quickly reverted to a more proper attitude.

Regis' eyes glowed with a bit of amusement from the man's forced properness, making a soft caring smile before reverting back to his serious demeanor. "Do you have any idea who this boy is? Has Noct spoken about him before?" Regis read the letter.

"No, sir. Noct... _I_ _mean_ , your son- he has not."

Regis' expression remained calm. "I see," He set the letter down and out of his hands. "Noct may go to this party if he so desires. However, my only request is to have him home by 9:30 at the latest. _Please_."

Gladio watched the expression of the king as he spoke, and the fidgeting and fumbling of his hands. He could tell; the king was nervous too about Noctis going to this party. He probably knew it was for his own good, just like Gladio did.

"Make sure Ignis Scientia can make accomodations to drive Noct, to and from the facility,"

Gladio nodded, getting his stuff together, thinking he would be excused to leave now. There was a long breath of silence, and Gladio assumed the conversation was over-

"-and please make sure that if Noct wishes to leave, that Ignis is prepared to drive him home on early notice,"

Gladio looked up at the man, hearing him speak more. Gladio nodded. "Of course." He grabbed the letter to put it back in his pocket, before heading to leave-

"-oh, and might I add...please encourage Noct to make some friends while he is there. He doesn't have many...I would like for him to be less alone," The king's fingers tapped the table, the intensity only increasing after the words were spoken. "I apologize for my overwhelming requests. I suppose I am just... _apprehensive_ for my son's first public endeavor outside royal grounds."

"Your Highness, the prince is never alone with me nor Ignis around," Gladio intervened. He was quite flabbergasted by the nerves coming from the crowned King of Lucis. "I'll stay with Ignis outside with the car."

"Thank you," The king was much more relieved by the suggestion. His voice was breathy as he said it and the crease between he brows became less intense. He sat back once more with his hands together, more relieved with the new accommodations for the little prince. He couldn't stand the idea of his son being unsafe, or unhappy for that matter. _This_ _boy_ _will_ _be_ _the_ _death_ _of_ _me_. " _thank you_ , Gladiolus."

Gladio shook his head. "Your son is no problem, Your Majesty." _A royal pain in the ass sometimes, but he's a good kid._

...

The day of the party was when Gladio broke the news to the boy, a little after school. He would've told him sooner, yet he had to get Ignis to drive for Noctis, and that first step would have been to first talk to Ignis. Lots of conversations took place for just a little party. The maids of the manor were worried, Ignis was worried, Gladio was biting his nails at this point, _bloody_ _hell_ , even the king was worried.

Gladio didn't realize how much protecting the boy was ingrained in his brain until he was going to be taken to a foreign environment, without his shield next to him, and without his royal advisor. This was pure torture. He didn't even get _sleep_ last night. It was so ridiculous how concerned he was about his little prince.

"Really?" Noctis asked, making the softest smile he could muster. So, his dad really did want him to be happy. He didn't want to let him down now either. His dad thought he was a loner, and had no friends in school: an introvert he was. He had to prove to him now, prove to him that he was fine, and that he could handle being independent. There was no going back now for Noct..

"Hm," Gladio huffed a smile, nodding. "'You ready to go?" Noctis' eyes went even wider, now sensing that Gladio really was serious about going.

He handed Noctis a pair of clothes for him. "Your dad picked your clothes out for you instead of the maids, _like_ _you're_ _still_ _a_ _little_ _baby_. They were left on your bed, so I got 'em."

Noctis blushed at both what his dad did and Gladio's comment. "W-Why did he do that?"

"Dunno, kid. He's just... _a_ _little_... worried." No, the little prince was driving Regis bonkers, but Gladiolus kept that part to himself.

Noctis huffed, but decided that it would be easier if he just wore what his dad picked out instead of deciding what to wear for himself.

" _So_? C'mon, just put it on already. Iggy's waiting for you."

"Okay, okay..! Fine..." Noctis grabbed the clothes now, but looked over at Gladio. "Um..."

"Hurry up, Noct."

Noctis' cheeks couldn't be any more flushed. He fumbled around a little, too shy ( "secretly!") to strip and quickly get his clothes on in front of Gladio. "If I have to do it here, can't you turn around?"

Gladio crossed his arms and turned. The prince sure was a piece of work, sometimes..."We're both guys here, Noct..."

"Y-Yeah, well...sorry..."

"Say your sorrys to Ignis; he's waiting on you."

Noctis hurried up due to this, but his adrenaline was also pumping with excitement. He couldn't wait any longer: this was so exciting!

After a few seconds?

"Done."

Gladio turned to see Noctis in a little cute suit. Fitting for a banquet, not really an informal party...not that Noctis or his father knew. Nonetheless, Gladio could tell Noctis was content. Seeing Noctis' calm, content expression, Gladio was relieved. Clothes picked out by his father, and he was going to be at a party.

What more could make a lonely little prince happy?

After a long drive with Ignis and Gladio, Noctis would arrive at the vicinity.

"Please make sure to not lose sight of your jacket, Your Highness. It will be quite chilly tonight," Ignis reminded the boy for the fourth time in a row since the car ride. Gladio kept his arms crossed as he sat next to Noctis. Noctis huffed and puffed all the while, but agreed to all of the suggestions.

"Yo," Gladio grabbed Noctis' shoulder as he stepped out of the car. "remember, we won't be far if you wanna' ever head home early. If you ain't having fun, you might as well just blow this popsicle stand."

"No," young Noctis made an assuring smile. "I'm gonna' be here the whole time, I'm _sure_." The smile on his face turned full as he paced a little as he spoke.

Ignis stared straight forward in the car as he fixed his specs. "You cannot foresee how this will undergo. Please be reminded that we are not far away. If all goes as planned, I will be seeing you at 9:00 sharp, Noct."

"Okay!"

Gladio shook his head for a moment, shocked by the enthusiastic response Ignis got from the boy. Noctis waved goodbye, before heading quickly into the house. It seemed the family kept the door unlocked for the party goers. Lots of cars were parked around the household.

Ignis was concerned, so they stayed a few minutes longer before making a drive to the nearest shopping center, awaiting to pick Noctis up later.

When Noctis stepped in, he was greeted by fangirls and fanboys all the same. He waved to his classroom friend, Agreas.

Though, he heard many whispers around him as he sat at the big party table and as the parents of the boy greeted themselves.

" _Is that Prince Noctis?"_

 _"OMG! I didn't think he would be here!"_

 _"Is Agreas close with him?"_

Agreas was simply a person that always passed the worksheets for school down to Noctis. They only engaged in small talk, but Noctis was too excited over the party to pass it up. Plus, he assumed maybe Agreas took a liking to him. It was nice, really; he felt appreciated as a human being and not just a figurehead. He ignored the questionings of the others around him: he was very much used to whispers and ignoring them for he was quite a wallflower in the school atmosphere: the only difference between him and a wallflower was that many kids recognized him as a prince of Lucis, not a nobody.

He took a seat, and smiled brightly as he noticed Agreas walk to the table.

He couldn't believe it. He might make a new friend, someone he didn't expect to get close to! So Agreas would take a seat, a seat right next to him, and they would talk for the whole party, right? And after that, they would exchange numbers or something, and maybe he would ask if Noctis wanted to do something over the weekend.

Noctis played out the scenario in his head, knowing he would have to say no to the weekend request due to royal matters, but the thought made his heart flutter. What if Agreas treated him like he treated the others in school? He would have lots of new friends and if he was treated like them and the ones at the party, he was sure he would be treated like a commoner and not some royal blood. Oh boy, he could see it now...

However, his heart sunk when Agreas didn't even take a seat near him.

Better yet, he ignored the prince completely. _He didn't even bat an_ eye _to_ _him_.

Noctis was dumbfounded.

Though, he gave it all his best shot, forcing a small smile to graze and return once more to his pale lips.

This was normal, right?

He knew Agreas would talk to him soon.

Why else would he be invited?

Sure, there were tons of people, but they all sure meant something to Agreas...

... _right_?

"So, you're friends with Agreas, Prince Noctis?" A boy from his class' voice filled Noctis' ears with shock. Noctis turned to the person talking, trying not to seem too excited by his first conversation at a party.

"Uh-huh; he sits in front of me."

"Wow!"

"I didn't know that!"

"Haha!"

The reactions Noctis got from his one comment made the boy's confidence return once more.

"So, what do you think of our teacher, anyways?" The boy asked another question, seeming intrigued by the young prince.

Noctis' eyes widened.

Someone cared.

Someone cared about something other than his title.

Noctis leaned forward at the question, eyes brightening up and as if he couldn't seem any more excited, he spoke up. "The class is usually boring, and I sleep a lot in it but-" He usually didn't like speaking all that much but this got him _excited_ and-

" _Yeah_ , I don't care." The boy teased now, smirking a little. He made it all a joke, the other boys laughing with him. Some of the girls fell silent, not liking that their prince was being made fun of and the butt of a joke, but even they didn't step in to say anything.

Noctis' smile soon turned into a blank expression, as his eyes glanced to Agreas, the birthday boy. He looked to see: would he say _anything_?

Noctis was speechless, though the boy continued the conversation with his friends and blatantly left Noctis out. He sat there, twiddling his thumbs for a little while. He looked around, as if waiting for _someone_ to initiate conversation with himself. His self esteem plummeted after such a rotten convo killer from that kid in his class.

" _You're here, Clara!_ " he heard Agreas talking to a girl he seemed to have a crush on in his class. Noctis recognized her as one his fangirls that would always bother him: one of the reasons he got to class so early.

He didn't know how he was hearing this conversation: he was so focused in on the voices around him and not speaking, it was just so easy to listen to something so unusually quiet.

" _Of course I had to come! I knew Prince Noctis would be here so I..."_

 _"Told ya' I'd invite him!_ " Lots of girls giggled.

The blank expression of Noctis' turned into a frown.

So, that was it.

He was _used_.

Unbelievable.

He thought maybe Agreas liked him. He thought he could be treated normally for once. He _thought_ he could make his dad stop worrying about his social life and make him more proud of him.

Tears stung at the corner of the shaky boy's eyes, threatening to fall after every giggle of his name that fell from every deceitful girls' lips. He _thought_ maybe things would be different. He didn't think he could be used like this, like a pawn for popularity. He didn't think he would be treated like a title or an object for once. He tried so hard all the time, so _hard_ just to be treated like a _human_ _being_.

Noctis hastily got up, causing quite a stir at the table. "I have to go," Noctis mumbled under his breath, head down as he tried to control his voice so he wouldn't crack. He kept his usual quiet and rather humble tone even though if his voice slipped any more, he would squeak. His vocal chords felt like they were in knots from himself refusing to shed tears.

"Yeah, _whatever_. Have fun with your royal stuff- whatever that is!" That boy that mocked him before mocked him again, causing all of his friends to laugh. A real jokester, huh. Noctis' lips quivered, but he stood his ground and stood by what he said. He gulped, before turning around and walking to the door. He opened it and headed out.

Once he did, he _ran_.

He ran with tears running down his face. He ran with the cold air running against his tear-stricken cheeks. He ran with his mouth open from hyperventilating. He sniffled as he took his phone out of his jacket shakily.

He was so glad Ignis made him bring his jacket. _He was so glad he had Ignis_. He dialed his number as fast as he could, after looking at the time. Thirty minutes of being mocked in front of a crowd of people, of being _objectified_ like he was a prize, like all he was would be the crown sitting on his head.

Almost instantly, Ignis answered the phone. It seemed he was _quite_ concerned having the phone right next to him as he waited in the car until he would have picked Noctis up normal time. He turned down the radio music, since that was his and the bodyguard's only form of entertainment before the abrupt call. They would have left to check out the shops in the mall, but both were too worried since the beginning. They were glad they didn't leave.

"I _assume_ you want to-"

"Iggy-...Iggy _p-please_..." Noctis hiccuped from the tears, nose running as he leaned against a tree outside in the cold air. "take me home...I-I _wanna_ go _home_... _just take_ _me_ _home_...!" Noctis was near yelling at the end.

Ignis heard the crying, and began to start the car up. Gladio sat in the backseat like before, confused. The phone was not on speaker.

"Specs, turn it up, will you?" Gladio was concerned by the fact Ignis actually looked concerned for once. Plus, the car was beginning to _move_ , it was only 7:00, and that was bad. Gladio thought by 8:50 _tops_ would he hear the engine running.

Ignis put his phone on speaker so Gladio could hear, Ignis shaking his head as he did so.

"Heading there now, Noct." He did not ask why Noctis was crying, though was deathly concerned for the prince's safety. "...are you safe?"

The question caused Noctis to begin bawling, hearing whimpers and cries into the phone. He was hyperventilating. "Just t-take me _huh-hu-_ _home_!"

Ignis grip on the steering wheel tightened. _Whoever made him cry..._

Gladio began to mumble a few _'damn its_ ' as he listened to the hysterical child. He didn't think a little party would end this badly. He wanted to kill the bastard that could make a prince with such a good head on his shoulders be this incoherent on the phone. God damn it, he was going to _pay_.

Though, there was no time for revenge of any sort. Retrieving Noctis was first priority.

As Ignis headed to the destination and tried to calm Noctis' bawling ( he felt like a social worker), Gladio noticed something...funny.

"The hell?...Is that him?"

Out a bit further from the party spot, Noctis was against a tree by his side, phone to his ear as the other hand covered his face.

" _Break_ it, Ignis!" Gladio yelled, Ignis stepping on the breaks as Gladio quickly got out of the car and ran to Noctis.

Noctis' red, teary eyes widened when he saw Gladio, and when he did, whimpered with more tears coming out. He shook, dropping the phone by accident before Gladio picked him up and got him over his shoulder. Noctis bawled into his shoulder, the phone being retrieved from Gladio before he got back into that damn car, _and_ _made_ _Ignis drive almost 80 miles per hour._

" _G-G-Gladio_ ," Noctis' voice sounded nearly exhausted as he cried a river into the man his senior. Gladio could feel the tears and snot getting on his Kingsglaive garb, but didn't mind it at the moment. The boy shook and writhed in his arms, and Gladio was more worried than he ever was. Gladio rubbed Noctis' back, much against his will for the boy to toughen up, but Ignis gave him a glare from the front mirror that made him comfort the boy some more. "I don't wanna go b-back to sch-" Noctis broke into more screams and tears and hyperventilations.

"Yeah, well, that's life, Noct." Gladio mumbled to Noctis, deciding to push Noctis to take the higher road, instead of babying him like they did at the palace. Though, for once he didn't sound much like 'tough luck' but more in a comforting, quiet tone. Gladio took Noctis' jacket off for him, unbuttoning it and setting it to the side as Noctis clung to him and cried, and cried, and _cried_.

"We're almost home, Noct." Ignis was glad to tell him, for Noctis he could tell was a mess even from the drivers seat.

Noctis continued to hyperventilate, though was beginning to calm down a little more. Gladio ruffled Noctis hair and hoped that the boy would calm down soon. Thankfully, Regis was at another meeting.

" _D-Don't_...t-tell my dad I...l-left...early!" He gasped it out.

The two remained silent, agreeing with Noctis' wishes simultaneously. They knew how much pressure Noctis was putting on himself in making his dad proud of him. Little did he knew how proud his father already was.

Once home, Gladio jogged into the palace like there was a bomb threat. He held Noctis over his shoulder so tight as he weeped. With Ignis, he closed the door of the living room and set Noctis down. Noctis leaned against Gladio as Gladio ruffled his hair. "You gotta' tell us what happened..." Noctis tried to stop himself from sniffling and tearing up, but it was too hard.

"I-I don't... _I wanna f-forget it..!_ " Ignis had taken a seat next to Noctis so that Noctis was in the middle, so when Noctis scooted over a little trying to rid himself of his tears, his head ended up in Ignis' chest with Gladio ruffling his hair.

" _After_ the scare over the telephone, I believe we deserve an _answer_." Ignis made a remark despite being just as apprehensive as Gladio about it.

After a minute or so, Noctis was able to calm down, his voice muffled due to Ignis' chest as he murmured with a little hiccup:

"They...u- _used_ me..."

"Used you?" Ignis mumbled to himself. "How is that?"

"Explanation, _now_." Gladio was getting _pissed_.

"Wanted me to...be there to...bring girls and...-"

"Please do not cry any more, Your Highness." Ignis bought Noctis' head up so he could use his gloved hand to wipe the tears from his eyes. Noctis pursed his lips a little as Ignis did this, causing red marks down his blue orbs from the rough contact to his wet and sensitive tear-stricken face. "Ah, I see," Ignis mumbled. "pulling quite a despicable act..." Ignis didn't know boys could be so mischievous in middle school.

"Maybe you should be happy about it, Noct. That means the girls must really _dig_ you, huh?" Gladio tried to make Noctis feel better.

Noctis shook his head. "The g-girls are...they're...they're not like... _not like._.." Noctis stopped himself before continuing. A familiar blonde entered his mind, but he shook his head at the thought.

There was a silence after that comment, like both Gladio and Ignis knew exactly who he was going to say. Accident or not, Luna was quite the intelligent woman. They both knew from her fame around the continent. Gladio smiled a little at the Prince's obvious love even at his young age. He knew Noct still spoke to her frequently.

Ignis got up to make Noctis something to eat. He moved the boy a bit to Gladio. Gladio wrapped his arms around the royal Prince and let himself be hugged. He felt the familiar head against him once more, but now in his chest. Noctis shook a little and whimpered just a bit more.

" _Listen_ , Noct. You're gonna meet a lot of people in your life like that.." the boy quivered some more as Gladio rubbed his back.

"-they're gonna try to use you whether it's for popularity, or _money_...you know. You gotta learn to toughen up and deal with it. People are going to use you for being a prince, objectify you..."

"B-But, _why_?"

Ignis chimed in. "Because, they are _imbeciles_." Both men were pretty fired up by Noctis being so hurt by it all.

"Yeah, Iggy's right. That's all there is to it," Noctis calmed down now, looking up at Gladio as he wiped the little Prince's tears away with a tissue nearby. "don't worry your little head about it, alright? You'll go _crazy_ figuring out why the hell people are such bastards..."

"I won't..."

"Good..." Gladio, noticing Noctis had calmed down a little more, asked, "did you cry in front of these jerks?"

Noctis thought for a moment, able to shake his head and say, "Nuh-uh..."

Gladio leaned down, and gave Noctis a big fist bump. He could tell the boy wasn't lying with such a calm aura as he heard him sniffle. Along with the sniffling, Noctis wiped his blotchy eyes of any remnants of water.

"You didn't show them _any_ weakness," Gladio rubbed his hand into Noctis' hair to mess it up a lot, making little Noctis to go into a small fit of giggles.

"As your trainer, let's just say I'm more than proud."

"Make that _two_."Ignis leaned against the counter with his arms crossed, fixing his specs as he agreed with Gladio's statement. "You must not shed tears in front of the enemy."

Glad to make _someone_ proud, Noctis looked up at Gladio with a warm smile.

 **Sorry if there are any grammatical issues; GAH! It's so late and I got a speech assignment due tomorrow! Good night or good morning friends- wherever you are!**


End file.
